Ursula von Rydingsvard

Into Her Own

118 Elliot’s collaboration with Burlington City Arts and the American Institute of Architects continues online with free, second Wednesday every month screenings of the very best architecture and design films out there. The link and password for the films will be posted on at: https://adfilmseries.org/ from the day of the screening until the following Sunday. Participate in the blog at that same site to share your impressions — enjoy!

Ursula von Rydingsvard: Into Her Own is an artistic biography of one of the few women in the world working in monumental sculpture.  In this documentary, we go behind the scenes with von Rydingsvard, as she and her collaborators – cutters, metalsmiths, and others – produce new work, including challenging commissions in copper and bronze. But the film also delves into the artist’s personal life, and how it has shaped her work. Born in Poland during the Second World War, she was partly raised in a displaced persons camp and came to the US as a refugee with her nine-person family. Her younger brother shares memories of being raised by their violent, domineering father – a man whose influence von Rydingsvard continues to feel. Brought up in a blue-collar environment, she became a teacher and then, as a single mother, moved to New York in the 1970s to take up her artistic practice full-time.

In conversations with curators, patrons, family, and fellow artists, we come to know von Rydingsvard as a driven but compassionate sculptor with a deep commitment to her art and the world around her.